Over the past few years, astronomers have found Super Earth planets orbiting different types of stars. One scientist has reviewed the latest discoveries for insight into how these planets form and whether such worlds could be habitable.

A new paper reveals how the worst extinction in Earth's history may have been tied to the formation of Supercontinent Pangea. The catastrophe wasn't triggered by an impact from above--unlike another well-known extinction--but by a geological process below, deep within Earth's core.

MAVEN stands for “Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution”, and the mission will examine the upper portion of Mars’ thin, mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere in order to determine how the climate of the Red Planet has changed over time.